A PUBLIC MEETING has been called, to be held in Caroline Street Club at 7.30pm on Monday, March 19th with the sole purpose of discussing the future of Saltaire Village Society.
Appealing for a large turnout, Society members have posted a questionnaire on the Village website and hope to have copies delivered to every home in Saltaire in good time before the meeting. This will give interested parties the opportunity to ponder the most important issues, while people unable to attend will still be able to make their views known as the SVS Committee will be collating responses to inform the agenda on the evening.

QUESTIONS

As well as the open question “What [else] do you think needs to be tackled in Saltaire”, participants are asked to assess the importance of specific issues from traffic to World Heritage Status and to arrange in order roles of a revitalized SVS which should be given priority: To encourage networking and information sharing between residents; to educate people about Saltaire and World Heritage Status; to raise public awareness on issues effecting Saltaire. Tellingly, the document is headed by a frank address from the Committee which puts the biggest question of all: Do we still need the SVS?

Other matters likely to arise at the meeting include whether or not eligibility to membership of the Society should be extended beyond people who either live or trade within the Village boundaries, as such criteria are stipulated by the present Constitution. As Dave Shaw puts it “The best interests of Saltaire cannot be served by a Society that materially discriminates against those living outside the village boundary”. A revised Constitution, which we are reliably informed will be “very much inclusive”,  is already expected to be presented to the AGM in May. With changes calculated to suit a demography different from that which SVS addressed when it was formed three decades ago clearly on the table, even a new name may be up for discussion, with “Friends of Saltaire” already known to be a contender.

EVERYONE WITH AN INTEREST IN SALTAIRE WILL BE WELCOME AT THIS MEETING. The choice of venue suggests that friendly, informal conversation is hoped for.